police midterm (chapters 1-8)

what happened on september 8, 2025 (Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo, 6-3 decision)?

ussc allowed federal immigration agents to resume “roving”/random immigration stops in LA area, decision overturned a lower-court ruling that had limited agents from stopping or detaining people without reasonable suspicion

early police - policing was always a _______ matter

private

early police - modern policing did not appear until ____ century in ______ and the ____ in ________

14th, France, 19th, England

the word police is derived from the latin word _______, which means “civil administration”

politia

police are ____ ______ of the government, and they _______ _____

civil power, maintain order

military are used in ____ __ ____ to kill and destroy enemy, ______ another by defeating them

time of war, conquer

general george patton - “the object of war is not to die for your country but to …

make sure the other bast*rd dies for his”

what was the common war sequence?

leave during social unrest and urban riots, go to war, return to US, recruited by police departments

police should not be trained to _____ and ______ the enemy

kill, destroy

police mission is to ______ ________ and _____ ________

solve problems, serve public

evolution of policing - “hue and cry”

when a community needed to find a criminal, they would go through the streets looking for men (15+ years old) to look for them (was a duty and a crime to refuse)

from the beginning of policing, there was a recognized need to _______ the way policing was performed and, at the same time, ______ __________ within policing to make needed changes

change, strong resistance

what are some obstacles in changing policing? (in US/NJ)

small departments, internal promotions, home rule

what is common law?

our system of law and policing borrowed from English primarily from judicial decisions based on custom and precedent, following similar cases and when you get into specifics/new cases you use it to make new laws, early cases = Magna Carta

what is statutory law?

laws that are written and passed by a legislature (like Congress or a state legislature)

difference between statuatory and common law

statutory law are laws written and passed by a legislature (ex, law that states you must be 21 to buy and consume alcohol), while common law are laws developed through court decisions and past cases (ex, a court decides how a law should apply in a specific case and future courts may use that decision as a precedent)

who was recohnized as the “founder of modern policing” and developed nine principles?

sir robert peel

sir robert peel establishes the ________ _____ ________

london police department

what act passed Parliament in 1829? what did it do?

the metropolitan police act - instituted hiring standards and some minimal training

what do the british/english call their police (nickname)?

bobbies

what do the irish call their police (nickname)?

peelers

what was the basic mission of peel’s nine principles?

to prevent crime

what is crime prevention and some examples?

taking steps to stop crimes before they happen, ex = police patrols, security cameras, neighborhood watch groups, etc.

what are the 3 components of target hardening/crime triangle?

criminal, victim, opportunity

what is peel’s first principle?

basic mission = prevent crime

what is peel’s second principle?

ability to perform mission was related to public approval

what is peel’s third principle?

willing co-operation of community and voluntary compliance to law dependent on respect for police

what is peel’s fourth principle?

degree of public cooperation is related to the need for physical force, more cooperation = less need for force

what is peel’s fifth principle?

preserve public favor not by catering to public but by impartial service

what is peel’s sixth principle?

physical force only as last resort

what is peel’s seventh principle?

“police are public and public are police",” part of community v. invading army

what is peel’s eigth principle?

never “appear to usurp the power of judiciary,” use of discretion

what is peel’s ninth principle?

test of efficiency of police is the absence of crime, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it

peel’s police department - how many were originally hired?

3400

peel’s police department - what happened during the first 8 years?

5000 fired, 6000 resigned, 510 (15%) of original hired remained, 14,400 total hires

peel’s police department - what was the primary problem?

drinking (military influence)

in US, reasons for resisting the creation of a police force (4):

fear of police force, resistance to forming one, did not want to pay, PD would threaten freedom

what were constables?

Local law enforcement officers who help keep the peace and enforce laws, paid for their services through fines

1840s NY was considered ______ and _______

lawless, violent

colonial experience - north

watch - parcel of idle, drinking, vigilant snorers…ready to join the burglary…

colonial experience - south

slave patrols - patrol function was first accepted as a police practice by slave patrols

what was the living environment like in the 18th and 19th centuries?

• urban and frontier - brutal and corrupt

• crime, street riots, and drunkenness

• lawlessness, the order of the day

______ dominated early policing! primary job of early police was to serve as the ____________ _____ of the political party. as a result, the police had little _______ _____

politics, enforcement arm, public respect

what is posse comitatus?

“power of the county” and allowed people 15+ to help enforce the law, often involved vigilantes and lynch mobs, while town marshals were sometimes former outlaws

what was the first organized american department (1838) that had 8 P.O. assigned to daytime duties and appointed a chief and constructed police station in the 1850s?

boston police department

in the 19th century, policing was dominated by politics, who’s army was it?

the mayors army, police got paid well but when a new mayor was elected, everyone was fired

what happened during the police war of 1857?

• New York City Police v. Metro (State PD)

• 50 metro (state police) came to arrest mayor and was attacked by 900 NYPD

• National guard was called and mayor was arrested

• governor orders replacement of NYPD with metro and metro became the NYPD

did early police hold guns?

no, they followed the British, they relied on brute force

in the 1860s, __________, _____________, and ______ were rampant and departments in Baltimore, St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland were under state control. A tradition of police brutality developed out of this __________ disrespect. “Officers sought to gain with their billy clubs the __________ that was not freely given to them.”

corruption, mismanagement, brutality, reciprocal, authority

what did the posse comitatus act of 1879 do?

forbids the use of military to enforce civilian law

who established the detective agency in 1850?

allen pinkerton

private policing (allen pinkerton and detective agency) earned the reputation for _______ ______ _______ and some notorious __________

catching train robbers, gangsters

private policing protected what?

the interests of the wealthy (railroads, bankers, and land speculators)

what are the two types of private policing?

proprietary and contract

what is the difference between proprietary and contract private policing?

proprietary is when a company hires its own security/police to protect its property and employees (ex, walmart hires and employs its own security guards), contract is when a company pays an outside security company to provide protection (ex, walmart hires G4S to provide security guards)

_____ __________ _______ were responsible for cleaning streets, inspecting boilers, caring for the poor and homeless, operating emergency ambulances, and performing other social services, in addition to their law enforcement duties

early American police

early 20th century policing attempts to address the problems of the history of _______, ________ and _________. Unfortunately, most reform efforts _________.

ineptness, corruption, brutality, failed

what was the boston police strike of 1919?

About 70% of Boston police went on strike, leading to riots and looting, so Governor Calvin Coolidge called in the state militia. The public turned against the police, all strikers were fired, and police unions were weakened for years.

why was president coolidge so popular after the boston police strike of 1919? what did reagan do that had the same result?

Coolidge became popular because he restored order during the Boston Police Strike and fired the striking officers. Reagan did something similar in 1981 by firing striking air traffic controllers, showing a tough stance against strikes.

what was prohibition? how did it impact local law enforcement?

a period when the government banned the making and selling of alcohol in the U.S, the birth of organized crime, local law enforcement became more corrupt

what was the volstead act (1919 - law in 1920)?

The law that enforced Prohibition by banning the production and sale of alcohol in the U.S

what was the eighteenth amendment?

The amendment that banned the making, selling, and transporting of alcohol in the U.S

what was the wickersham commission?

created by President Hoover in 1929, studied the criminal justice system and criticized Prohibition, saying it was “unenforceable.” It found police were often inefficient, racist, brutal, and poorly trained, sometimes using the “third degree” (physical or mental pressure to get confessions), and recommended better hiring, pay, benefits, and education

who was the director of the FBI from 1924 to 1972? how did he keep his job this long?

j. edgar hoover, he kept his FBI job for so long because he had strong political connections and kept control over the FBI, making it difficult for presidents and Congress to remove him.

what was the pendleton act?

made government jobs more based on skills/qualifications instead of political connections

who was august vollmer?

Police chief who helped create modern professional policing through better training and education

who was O.W. Wilson?

Police reformer who argued that one-officer patrol cars were more efficient than two-officer cars

what is a blue flu?

When police officers call in sick together as a form of protest or to put pressure on the government

what was considered the most turbulent era ever for policing in U.S. history?

the 1960s and 1970s (wild west)

1967 - ______ riots and later civil unrest throughout the country - ______ 1968

detroit, newark

prominent events in 1960s and 1970s

riots, Vietnam War, student protests, SC decisions, Civil Rights Movement, assassinations (JFK)

advise of constitutional rights = miranda, due process revolution, pat down = terry

prominent events in 1980s and 1990s

computers, community policing, zero tolerance policing (3 strikes), increased jail and prison populations, compstat, rodney king (civil v. criminal), o.j. simpson

4 styles of leadership

autocratic, participatory, democracy, laissez faire

what is autocratic leadership?

leader makes all the decisions, my way or the highway (I’m the boss)

what is participatory leadership?

leader asks for input from others before deciding, asks people/cares about participation and feedback with decisions

what is democratic leadership?

leader lets the group vote and decide together, voting on decisions and outcome is based on vote

what is laissez faire leadership?

leader gives people freedom to make their own decisions, laid back and doesn’t really care

what is MAD in police shifts?

midnight, afternoon, and day shifts

policing from 2000-2026

Police have adopted new technology and strategies like CompStat, while also focusing more on terrorism prevention and dealing with debates over police militarization, gun rights, and police funding. Modern policing also faces greater public scrutiny and risks to officers, with traffic crashes and other everyday dangers being major concerns. crime rates right now are really low, maybe at an all time low

what are some costs to doing business

• the size and scope of U.S law enforcement industry is enormous

• the “industry” is tremendously diverse and fragmented

• local expenditures continue to increase

• local governments spend 69% of total cost of policing

aspects of local law enforcement

• most are small - 55% have fewer than 10 officers

• approx. 4.7% have more than 100 but they represent 60% of all police

• racial and ethnic minorities constitute 24% of officers

• women constitute 11% of officers, African American = 12%, Hispanic/Latino = 10%

american law enforcement by the numbers - how many state police, special district police agencies, sheriff’s departments, and local police from municial and county jurisdictions?

49 state police, 1400 special district police agencies, 3061 sheriff’s departments, and ~12,656 local police from municial and county jurisdictions

although the us constitution created three branches of government — executive, legislative, and judicial — it did not create a __________ _____ ______. However, it did give the national government power over _______ ______.

national police force, specific crimes

elements of the quasi-military

• structures of authority

• uniformed

• rank structure

• authorized to use force

the role of police is very ___________

ambiguous

the two primary goals of the police are to ________ ______ and ________ _____ _____ ________

maintain order, protect life and property

what is the issue with the goal v. vision of mission for police officers?

dealing with minor disorder is not consistent with officer's vision of their mission

approximately _______ police agencies in the US, ___ officer to over ______ officers, (1 million total employees - 700,000 sworn FT, 43,000 sworn PT - 99,000 PT employees)

22000, 1, 40000

what is civilianization? examples?

replacing police officers doing non-police tasks with regular civilian employees, ex) having a civilian employee handle paperwork, dispatching, or administrative work instead of a sworn officer, property officers, detective, forensics/evidence collector or analyzed, evidence technicians

what are elements of private security?

non-governmental, not restricted by Constitution unless working with the government

line and staff consist of…

operations and support

distribution of police - city, suburban, and county

82%

distribution of police - state police

10%

distribution of police - federal police/agencies

8%

the us justice department consists of:

fbi, dea, u.s. marshals

the primary tasks of federal police agencies is to ______ the laws contained in the u.s. ________ _____. jurisdictional boundaries are established by _______.

enforce, criminal code, congress

what is the fbi?

chief investigative body of the justice department. investigates all federal crimes. (director hoover 1924-72)

what is the dea?

controls the use and distribution of narcotics, both domestically and internationally

what are u.s. marshals?

federal court officers, and manage the witness protection program

the treasury department includes which agencies?

internal revenue service (IRS) and the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives (BATF)